by Simon Samano, USA TODAY Sports

by Simon Samano, USA TODAY Sports

By now it's clear that, unless Colin Kaepernick suffers a serious injury, the San Francisco 49ers aren't going back to Alex Smith as their starting quarterback.

Certainly Kaepernick did everything during Sunday night's remarkable 41-34 road win over the New England Patriots to reassure coach Jim Harbaugh that his controversial decision last month was the right one.

So this season will go down as a raw deal for Smith, who was having a fine season before suffering a concussion in Week 10 that opened the door for Kaepernick. Smith's 70 completion percentage and 104.1 passer still rank first and third, respectively, in the NFL.

All that being said, Smith has a supporter in reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who Smith outdueled in Week 1 during the 49ers' win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

"Alex and I are buddies, we both got drafted in the 2005 NFL Draft, and he's been through a lot," Rodgers said on NFL Total Access. "I can't imagine to have to go through that many offensive coordinators, and the turnover in coaches has been tough for him.

"He comes in, he's 70 percent completion, he's 100-plus quarterback rating last year, he's like barely over one percent interception percentage. He's a great quarterback. He just needs to go somewhere he gets appreciated for the skills he has, and hopefully he gets a chance next year."

All in all, a strong show of support from Rodgers, who was drafted 23 picks after Smith went No. 1 overall to the Niners.

With Smith's days in San Francisco all but numbered, it'll be interesting to see where he lands this offseason.